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Crime down for first half of year in Town of Stettler

Crime is apparently down in the Town of Stettler for the first half of 2010, according to records from Stettler RCMP.

Local police reported a total of 1,171 calls from this January to June, down from 1,463 for the same period last year.

“Almost everything appears to be down for the first half of the year,” said Stettler RCMP Staff Sergeant Rowland Schmidt, who updated council during its regular meeting Sept. 21.

“I know that from July to mid-September quite a few petty thefts occurred, mostly from vehicles.”

To help prevent that, police urge people to take protective steps.

“We urge people to remove valuables from inside their vehicles and to lock their vehicles,’ said Sergeant Schmidt.

However, he reported that police have apprehended several people in connection with these incidents and many of these people are local or new residents to town.

Alcohol and assaults remain a concern with police.

“I am pleased that assaults are down although we have a fair share of domestic violence and many related to alcohol,” said Sergeant Schmidt.

To help curb graffiti, the local Citizens on Patrol is playing a valuable role to monitor various parts of town, he said.

Motor-vehicle collisions have risen sharply with police responding to 149 incidents, up from 128 in 2009 while figures for the rest of criminal activity is down.

Police issued 238 traffic tickets, down from 254.

For the first half of this year, police also reported 97 provincial traffic violations and 552 other cases of assistance to public. Figures in that category were not reported for 2009.

With 373 calls, incidents involving crime are down from 515 for the first half of 2009.

For the first half of this year, Stettler police recorded 87 person crimes (93 in 2009), 172 property crimes (274), 25 traffic crimes (30), 20 federal and drug crimes (23), and 69 other crimes (95).